Skydance is offering eligible employees a one-time voluntary buyout as it integrates Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery following the completion of their $111 billion acquisition.
Chairman and CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz announced the program in an internal memo Monday.
Employees who qualify will receive individual communications detailing their offers and the deadline to decide whether to accept them.
“As we bring our teams together, we recognize that not everyone will see their future here, and we respect that,” the executives wrote.
They described the program as an opportunity for eligible employees to move on under terms tailored to their circumstances.
Eligibility requirements and decision deadlines vary depending on factors including employment status, according to people familiar with the arrangements.
READ: Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger to create Skydance (October 3, 2026)
In general, employees will have until around the second week of November to decide whether to participate.
The company has not disclosed how many employees qualify for the program, how many may accept the offers or the total number of positions that could ultimately be eliminated.
The buyout initiative follows the Oct. 6 completion of Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The deal brings the companies’ entertainment operations under a combined corporate structure and sets the stage for changes across the organization.
In a memo issued on the day the transaction closed, Ellison and Kreiz acknowledged that the integration would affect employees.
“Integrating two companies will bring change, including difficult decisions that affect our workforce,” they wrote, adding that they were committed to handling the process thoughtfully and respectfully.
Skydance executives have said they aim to achieve more than $6 billion in annualized cost savings within three years.
Layoffs are expected to contribute to those savings, although the company has not announced the scale of the anticipated job cuts.
The potential employment impact also extends to the wider entertainment industry. An August report from Los Angeles County estimated that the merger could result in the loss of approximately 4,500 film and television jobs in the county over three years.
Alongside the buyout program, Skydance is introducing a five-day-per-week office attendance policy across the company.
The change will be phased in by location, with employees receiving advance notice before new requirements take effect.
The executives said in Monday’s memo that in-person collaboration is important to the company’s creative and business objectives.
READ: CNN staff face layoffs as Paramount merger moves closer (September 24, 2026)
“Especially in a creative company like ours, the best ideas come from people in the same room, sharing perspectives, challenging one another and solving problems,” they wrote.
They acknowledged that the policy could require adjustments for employees accustomed to remote or hybrid work arrangements, and that managers will work with employees to support the transition, according to the memo.
Employees with questions about the buyout can consult their individual offer materials and contact their managers or human resources representatives.
The company has also made information available through its integration hub and existing employee support channels.
The announcements outline two immediate changes as Skydance works to unify the businesses: a voluntary departure option for eligible employees and a companywide shift toward full-time office attendance.
The company has not provided a final figure for potential job cuts as the integration continues.